Archive

Jesus wishes to bring His Kingdom to souls more by suffering and persecution than by brilliant preaching.

I wish...I could help you find consolation near the Cross. In its shadow, every kind of bitterness fades. No one has suffered like Jesus has and, from His cross, He teaches us to bear with every pain in silence and in resignation. From the cross and with open arms He invites us saying; "Come to me all you who are burdened under the weight of suffering and I will give you rest."

...Jesus has taken command of my ship and has protected it from encountering other vessels. He has kept me in solitude with Himself. Consequently, my heart, by knowing this Captain, has fallen under the spell of His love, and here He keeps me captive. Oh, I love this prison and this powerful King who keeps me captive; and how I love this Captain who amid the waves of the ocean doesn't allow me to suffer shipwreck.

One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying. He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off, and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is prayer.

And I saw a river over which every soul must pass to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, and the name of that river was suffering...and then I saw a boat which carried souls across the river, and the name of the boat was Love.

Bless the mind deeply troubled
Of the sufferers,
The heavy loneliness of profound souls,
The restlessness of human beings,
The sorrow which no soul ever confides
To a sister soul.

You must build a little cell within your soul as I do. Remember that God is there and enter it from time to time; when you feel nervous or you're unhappy, quickly seek refuge there and tell the Master all about it....We come quite simply to the One we love, stay close to Him like a little child in the arms of its mother, and we let our heart go....If you only knew how well He understands....You wouldn't suffer any more if you understood that.

Jesus,...wills to receive a gift from you. He knows it is much sweeter to give than to receive. We have only the short moment of this life to give to God...and He is already preparing to say: 'Now my turn.' What a joy to suffer for Him who loves us unto folly and to pass as fools in the eyes of the world.

And so in spite of this trial which robs me of all sense of enjoyment, I can still say: ' You have given me O Lord, a delight in Your doings.' Ps. 91: 5. For is there a greater joy than to suffer for Your love, O my God? The more intense and more hidden the suffering the more do You value it.

If you know how to accept the trials, worries, sufferings, and fatigue arranged by God throughout the days and hours of life, you will practice a lot of asceticism, and you will not have to look for more of it.

Whoever lives in the presence of so good a friend and excellent a leader as is Jesus Christ can endure all things. Christ helps us and strengthens us and never fails; he is a true friend...What more do we desire from such a good friend at our side, who will not abandon us in our labors and tribulations, as friends in the world do. Blessed is the one who truly loves him and keeps him near.

Oh my Lord, how certain it is that anyone who renders You some service soon pays with a great rial! And what a precious reward a trial is for those who truly love You if we could at once understand its value!